Holiday shopping season is here, at least according to retailers
Amazon, Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Best Buy and other big retailers are kicking off big sales events as consumers continue to move up their holiday timetables.
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UPDATE: UAW doesn’t expand strike after GM makes battery plant concession
The United Auto Workers union will announce Friday afternoon whether it will widen its strike to additional factories at Detroit’s biggest vehicle manufacturers after another week of tense contract bargaining.
Chipotle robots might soon construct your salads and bowls
Curt Garner, Chipotle’s chief customer and technology officer, said the goal is not to replace workers but to meet the rising demands of serving customers who order online in addition to those who come into the store.
Google to add Bard AI to voice assistant, following Amazon
Google said the product, called Assistant with Bard, was still an “early experiment” and that it would be available only to a test group at first.
Congress averts shutdown for 45 days after last-minute scramble
A last-ditch effort on Capitol Hill on Saturday staved off a government shutdown with just hours to spare, as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), in an abrupt strategic reversal, offered a plan that won the support of nearly all Democrats and most Republicans.
UAW set to widen strike barring progress in contract talks
The United Auto Workers union said it will broaden its strike at noon Friday unless there is last-minute progress in contract talks with Detroit’s Big Three automakers.
Meta introduces ChatGPT competitor, AI tools amid industry arms race
Meta said the conversational assistant, Meta AI—which will populate WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram—relies on one of its large language models and a partnership with Microsoft’s search engine Bing.
Shutdown looks more likely, as House GOP leaders reject Senate plan
On Capitol Hill, the two chambers are working on diverging tracks to extend government funding, which is set to expire at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.
Senate moves forward on short-term deal to avert government shutdown
If adopted, it would fund the government for six weeks with additional money for Ukraine and domestic disaster relief. Without additional funding, the government will shut down Sunday.
U.S., 17 states sue Amazon alleging monopolistic practices led to higher prices
The long-awaited move seeks to bar the company from allegedly abusing its powers to raise prices for shoppers and levy high fees against businesses that sell on its platform.
U.S. braces for possible costly government shutdown
On Oct. 1, the U.S. government is set to shut down, unleashing real and wide-ranging financial hardship on American families, workers and businesses.
Auto strikes expected to expand Friday with no deal in sight
UAW President Shawn Fain has not said which plants would be affected next—the union’s stated strategy is to “keep the companies guessing.”
Bob Ross’ first TV painting is for sale. You can buy it for $9.8 million.
When Bob Ross painted “A Walk in the Woods,” no one knew he would go on to star in more than 400 episodes of “The Joy of Painting,” most of which was filmed and produced in Muncie, Indiana.
Faced with return-to-office mandates, some workers are quitting
Human resources experts say by enforcing rigid policies, employers run the risk of losing top performers and diversity.
Federal government to start providing free coronavirus tests again
Starting Sept. 25, people can request four free tests per household through covidtests.gov. Officials say the tests are able to detect the latest variants and are intended to be used through the end of the year.
Fed leaves rates unchanged as it debates economy’s next steps
The Federal Reserve signaled one more hike was possible this year, as central bankers shift their focus toward how long they’ll keep rates high and when they’ll decide there has been enough progress on their inflation fight.
Google adds ChatGPT rival Bard to Gmail, YouTube, Docs and more
Google is integrating its Bard artificial intelligence chatbot with some of its other products, as the tech giant tries to keep up with fierce competition and get more people to use its AI tools.
United Auto Workers president rejects Stellantis wage increase offer
UAW President Shawn Fain said that Stellantis’s 21 percent offer and other terms presented by the automakers aren’t sufficient and that the strike will continue.
UAW leaders, automakers return to the bargaining table
Some 12,700 UAW members—or roughly 8% of the union’s autoworkers—are on strike at a Stellantis plant in Ohio, at a GM plant in Missouri and at a Ford assembly plant in Michigan.
Inflation nudged up again in August as gas prices rose rapidly
Gas costs drove inflation in August, rising 10.6 percent over the month and accounting for more than half of the increase over July. All other major energy categories rose as well.